Acadian's rate increase is a needed expense

The Lafayette City-Parish Council last week granted Acadian Ambulance a 44 percent increase in its rates for emergency transport and almost 75 percent for non-emergency transport, to be implemented incrementally over the next two years.

That seems like a huge jump - and it is. But Acadian's rates have been considerably lower than national median rates and this increase puts them on a par with national "customary" rates.

And ambulance service is something you don't want to skimp on.

An ambulance is more than just transportation to the hospital, as it was generations ago, when funeral home hearses doubled as ambulances.

Today's ambulances must be equipped with lifesaving medical devices, stocked with medication and staffed by skilled emergency medical technicians and paramedics.

Acadian Ambulance, which is under contract with the Lafayette Consolidated Government, has been an important part of the Acadiana community since 1971. It started here and has spread to most of Louisiana, three Texas counties and one county in Mississippi. And since the 1970s, it has had to keep up with the latest in technology and training.

And that costs money. Unlike ambulance services in cities like Houston, where the municipality funds ambulance services, Acadian's source of revenue comes strictly from user fees - payments from patients, their insurance companies or Medicare or Medicaid.

"We're not paid to have the ambulance standing by, waiting for a heart attack or an accident, but we still have to pay for training, insurance and salaries," said Jerry Romero, senior vice president of operations for Acadian Ambulance.

And while the City of Houston pays to maintain its ambulance service, patients still have to pay about $1,000, plus $13 per mile for emergency transport.

In New York City, where ambulance services are also maintained by the city, the average cost to the patient is about $1,100 for emergency services - or as Romero puts it, the patient pays and the taxpayer pays, too.

Nationally, the median rate for emergency transport is $925 and $626 for non-emergency transport.

Non-emergency transport usually refers to taking patients who are confined to a bed to an appointment or facility. Dialysis patients, for example, are often transported by ambulance.

Compare those rates to Acadian's new fees, which will rise from $673.13 to $822 this year and to $971 next year. Non emergency services will increase from $376.12 to $516 in 2013 and to $657 in 2014. An additional fee of $21 per mile will also be applied. That is an industry standard, Romero said.

One of the reasons the increase is needed is that Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements for ambulance service have gone down, Romero said. In addition, ambulances are like emergency rooms - in a medical emergency, they have to transport everyone, regardless of their ability to pay. And sometimes, the provider just has to absorb those losses.

No one likes price increases. And for most of us, a trip in an emergency vehicle is a rare thing. But when you're the one riding in the back of an ambulance, you want it to be fully equipped with the latest medical devices and fully staffed with qualified personnel.

The rate increase will ensure that Acadian Ambulance will be able to continue providing that to those who need it in Acadiana. And that makes it worth it.

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Acadian's rate increase is a needed expense

The Lafayette City-Parish Council last week granted Acadian Ambulance a 44 percent increase in its rates for emergency transport and almost 75 percent for non-emergency transport, to be implemented

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